GUG in ‘complete agreement’ with priority boarding system for ferries

Update: The Gozo University Group said in a statement today that it is in “complete agreement with the system of priority boarding on the Gozo Channel Ferries that is envisaged to come into force during the last week of this coming July.”

The Group added, “However, we are of the view that this priority boarding system should be limited to a specific percentage of vehicles boarding the ferry.”

“Moreover, the Gozo Channel is undergoing a series of studies on how to ameliorate the ticketing system and queueing process. We believe that this is highly beneficial and essential to improve the boarding process.”

GUG concluded that it is also in favour of the advance purchase of the ferry tickets so as to fully ensure that the queuing process is ameliorated.”

Update: Earlier this year the Minister for Gozo, Dr Anton Refalo, said in Parliament that the Gozo Channel Company was considering the introduction of priority boarding by means of a special fare.’

Gozo Channel has commissioned PriceWaterhouseCoopers to carry out a feasibility study into it, the Minister said.

No not specifically for Gozitans but for anyone willing to pay for the privilege …how this benefits university students I cannot see nor can I see any real need and it could potentially lead to a lot of resentment and/or corruption. The current system seems fair and transparent.

And what, S Palmer, should Mr Brightside do something about? He has merely clarified a question and stated an opinion. You are right, there are indeed armchair critics everywhere and you are one of them.

No, you didn’t answer my question, instead you rambled on about something that made no sense to anyone else which is why you received the comments from other people that you did. However, thank you, finally, for the information.

Will someone please answer my question. How often do Air Malta passenger planes get replace with new ones? I always hear about them running into technical difficulties but never hear of them getting replaced. I also read that overall in reviews, they appear to look old.This is a serious topic. I apologize for changing the subject but I don’t know where to go on this site to start a new topic

From what I have read they are about 7.5 years old on average.
Many aircraft suffer technical difficulties and with a small fleet of 10 aircraft it is difficult to substitute an aircraft for another when issues arise. Many issues are not serious but the airline errs on the side of safety as they all (should) do. Also, it is not necessarily the age of the aircraft that is important but the number of air miles each covers. Some technical difficulties, particularly electronic ones, are difficult to trace and remedy. PS, I do not work for Air Malta but ex RAF and an aviation fan. 🙂

Thank you Mick Cundy for your support and attempts to keep this site civil.

Eliza, I imagine this information is available from the airline. However I travel regularly on Air Malta and don’t have any problem with the planes, I am not an expert but I understand that all planes have to have a certificate of air worthiness, which involves very vigorous testing, and providing they have this then I guess the chronological age is immaterial.

Thank you both Mr. Cundy and Mr. Brightside. I am an American who appreciates your candor..Unfortunately because the majority of people cannot agree to disagree on this site, I donnot disclose my real name.

We have been getting media coverage here in the US literally 24/7 for 3 weeks now including a pilot who daily practices a simulator for viewers. I brought up the topic of
Air Malta when I read the airlines reviews stating that overall parts of them appeared old and rundown. I used to always fly with British Airways but sadly, they don’t fly out from London to Malta anymore

Mick I have just booked several BA flights malta to London and vice versa and have been paying between £55 and £77 single. The lower price is without hold luggage. I found the best prices on BAs own website.

I strongly believe that the “bottleneck” created by the shortage of space on the ferries at peak periods is hurting the economy of Gozo and is also making the lives of those unlucky few crossing for work a great deal, especially in summer. Increasing the number of priority boarding passengers by a few percentage would clearly have only a marginal impact on the economy of the island while it would represent a huge slap in the face to the frequent commuters. I think it would be wise to save money on futile “economic studies” and solve the bottleneck problem. There is plenty of evidence from many different fields that show that this is the only true solution for traffic problems. unless the government only wants to favor only a handful of people.